Welcome to the 2016-17 cycle!

[dagnabbit]

8 hours ago, Monody said:

The thing that really bothered (and annoyed) me about the transcripts was that Stanford requires you to send them two physical copies of your transcripts which didn't only cost me 15€ to send but also took away 2 of the three official transcripts I received from my exam office. 

Yeah, I thought that was strange too, but I guess Stanford can get away with that kind of stuff. Luckily, my university has an official e-transcript system, and Stanford's application FAQ page states that one e-transcript can be substituted for the two physical transcripts. I think that only 2 of the 10 programs I'm applying to actually require a physical copy of the transcript - honestly, I can't believe that any school would still ask for physical copies of anything in 2016.

Edited December 11, 2016 by dagnabbit
typo

[jazzmintea]

On 12/10/2016 at 7:20 PM, Senioritis said:

You should be completely fine. I'm a current PhD student and one of my recommenders didn't send them until the end of December. He was the DGS at my undergrad school and was very reassuring that most programs are very lenient on LORs coming in late since that's probably out of your control most of the time.

 

 Also I applied last cycle and I ended up choosing Berkeley so if anyone has any questions about the program or grad school in general I'm happy to help out! ☺️

 

I hope this is true. I'm kind of starting to panic because my advisor hasn't submitted his recommendation for schools that are due on the 15th!! 

[waterloo715]

7 hours ago, jazzmintea said:

I hope this is true. I'm kind of starting to panic because my advisor hasn't submitted his recommendation for schools that are due on the 15th!! 

In my experience, most academics have things pile up and are often forced to pump things out at the last minute. One of my advisors just submitted a few letters for applications that were due on December 1 because he fell behind with the end of term, admin, etc.  I never received any emails from the schools saying my application was incomplete. FWIW, I asked one school and they said they only needed two LORs for an application to be deemed "complete"/packaged for review and that they would add the third one when it arrives. You still have a few days, so I wouldn't worry too much as long as you have verified at some point that s/he will write your letter.

[Monody]

I would also add that one of my writers directly told me that he writes the letters when they are due and as long as the person is sufficiently trustworthy to actually do this I wouldn't worry about it. Especially because late letters do not seem to be an actual issue for most schools.

[krapp]

That huge December 15 deadline is coming up fast...It'll all be done soon enough!

[dagnabbit]

I was really struggling with cutting down my SOP to 4000 characters for UC Davis until I realized that they have a separate section on their application to list your POIs and explain why you want to work with them. I'm really not sure how I would have accomplished it otherwise without sacrificing something important, but maybe that's just a sign that I need to get better at editing. To quote Pascal, "I have made this letter longer than usual, because I lack the time to make it short." Anybody else have trouble/no trouble whatsoever with crafting a succinct SOP?

[krapp]

I have two working frames for my SOPs (500 words and 1000 words). It's the diversity statement that is giving me trouble now.

[polscimajor]

1 hour ago, krapp said:

I have two working frames for my SOPs (500 words and 1000 words). It's the diversity statement that is giving me trouble now.

Oh don't even talk about the diversity statements!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! cry cry

[dododo]

Hi guys, 

I am a bit confused about the hard copy transcript requirement for Rice and TAMU.

Am I required to send hard copy transcript for these schools?

It seems that they need hard copy versions after an applicant is admitted. Am I right? Please help me!!!!

[tkid86]

Hi, all. I'm joining the waiting... despite warnings, I am still diving into the pool of gradcafe and will more than likely drive myself mad.

I just got word from my final letter writer that all my letters have now been submitted. I had to submit all my applications back in October because I am currently out of the States and in a country where I was not sure how easily I could access my applications. So now to wait... best of luck to all of you as you wrap up your applications.

[resDQ]

 just found a typo in my writing sample.

 

[krapp]

2 hours ago, resDQ said:

 just found a typo in my writing sample.

 

I doubt a typo in your writing sample would be the deciding factor in any application, so don't sweat it.

[CarefreeWritingsontheWall]

2 hours ago, resDQ said:

 just found a typo in my writing sample.

 

Sent a copy of my SOP to a friend who is applying to PhD programs this year and found a glaring typo in a statement to a school where I was accepted (). In retrospect, these aren't the kinds of things that destroy your chances of admission.

[resDQ]

52 minutes ago, CarefreeWritingsontheWall said:

Sent a copy of my SOP to a friend who is applying to PhD programs this year and found a glaring typo in a statement to a school where I was accepted (). In retrospect, these aren't the kinds of things that destroy your chances of admission.

This made me feel better. I know it isn't a deciding factor, but after hours/weeks of staring at something, I wish I had found it before submitting all of my apps!

[boruchan93]

I am having this weird problem with Queen's University Political Science department. I previously e-mailed them asking the institution and department code (it can be 89, 92 or 99 depending on the institution) for TOEFL since it does not state anywhere on their website. I received a reply which showed the minimum score requirements for admissions but did not mention any type of code whatsoever. I asked again and they just told me that I have to send my documents to an address that they gave. I am already aware of the fact that I have to send a complete admissions package with transcripts and etc. However, I also know for a reason that they need those official score reports directly sent from ETS. Either I am having difficulty of expressing myself or the admissions office does not care at all which is really annoying. Sorry for this rant, did not know where else to write.

[Wanumman]

You could try calling them. Skype isn't too expensive.

[changeisgood]

On 12/13/2016 at 10:47 AM, dododo said:

Hi guys, 

I am a bit confused about the hard copy transcript requirement for Rice and TAMU.

Am I required to send hard copy transcript for these schools?

It seems that they need hard copy versions after an applicant is admitted. Am I right? Please help me!!!!

I uploaded a PDF to Rice and apparently they were fine with it.  I ended up sending a hard copy to TAMU for the simple reason that their upload system wouldn't accept the double-uber-secure PDF that I got from the clearing house (TAMU requires official transcripts with application).  If you have a PDF of your official transcript (signed and sealed by the registrar) that isn't restricted access, they'll probably take it.

[Quickmick]

8 minutes ago, changeisgood said:

I uploaded a PDF to Rice and apparently they were fine with it.  I ended up sending a hard copy to TAMU for the simple reason that their upload system wouldn't accept the double-uber-secure PDF that I got from the clearing house (TAMU requires official transcripts with application).  If you have a PDF of your official transcript (signed and sealed by the registrar) that isn't restricted access, they'll probably take it.

FYI, if the secure PDF things pops up on you again, you can strip it easily and for free (I had to do this for transcript purposes, too). Just google strip PDF security or look:

http://www.wikihow.com/Unlock-a-Secure-PDF-File

Hope it helps someone and good luck everyone!

[Monody]

Finally the 15th is over and I can't change anything anymore. Feels great.

[GradNYC]

7 hours ago, Monody said:

Finally the 15th is over and I can't change anything anymore. Feels great.

yes

[swanblack]

Has anyone ever faced a dilemma where one had to meet the deadline while his/her statement of purpose was not ready or had typos? Or may be one applied but in a day or two after the deadline, one got a better version of SOP. My suspicion is that Universities don't accept revised SOPs/CVs/Writing samples etc post the deadlines. But what if one has to send one and make sure it reaches the admission committee as well. Is there anyway one can do that or simply the answer is no, and not worth the effort?

[Monody]

4 hours ago, swanblack said:

Has anyone ever faced a dilemma where one had to meet the deadline while his/her statement of purpose was not ready or had typos? Or may be one applied but in a day or two after the deadline, one got a better version of SOP. My suspicion is that Universities don't accept revised SOPs/CVs/Writing samples etc post the deadlines. But what if one has to send one and make sure it reaches the admission committee as well. Is there anyway one can do that or simply the answer is no, and not worth the effort?

I realized that a word was missing in one of my statements and that was before the deadline, but I don't think that they accept revisions especially after the deadline simply because they initiate the process of preparing all the files for the committee and it may be somewhat unfair to all other applicants if they were to allow you to revise it again.

[sesostris]

Hi, I am starting to freak out seriously, I guess everyone else is, right?

I applied to all top 15 programs, I'm from South America, I have good letters (two moderately known professors, both with various publications in the top journals and books in CUP, and one from the Director of my Department), I have research experience, I worked a lot on my SoP and had access to various succesful SOPs to inspire mine, I have teaching experience, my BA, and my MA almost completed, and writing sample is my revised BA thesis which all my professors have praised.

But... my GRE is 166 for verbal (which I consider good been non native) and 161 for quant. 

That 161 is killing me... what do you think?

 

[guest56436]

Calm down. 161 is a good quant score.

[waterloo715]

17 minutes ago, sesostris said:

Hi, I am starting to freak out seriously, I guess everyone else is, right?

I applied to all top 15 programs, I'm from South America, I have good letters (two moderately known professors, both with various publications in the top journals and books in CUP, and one from the Director of my Department), I have research experience, I worked a lot on my SoP and had access to various succesful SOPs to inspire mine, I have teaching experience, my BA, and my MA almost completed, and writing sample is my revised BA thesis which all my professors have praised.

But... my GRE is 166 for verbal (which I consider good been non native) and 161 for quant. 

That 161 is killing me... what do you think?

 

Try to relax. Nothing you can do about it now except wait. Speculation won't do much, as none of us have any idea what Feb./March holds for us. Just be content with the amount of work you put in to get to this point. More importantly, try not to have any expectations—you may end up being pleasantly surprised by the end of March.  If not, well, you can try it again next cycle.